Indecision
by LadySaxophone
Summary: **WRITTEN BY LADYSAXOPHONE'S LITTLE SISTER!** Another ROTS AU, since both of us are heartbroken by the Mustafar scene.


**Miss Pippin: **So, since they already know you, could you introduce me?

**LadySaxophone:** *enthusiastically* It would be an honor! Everyone, meet my adorable baby sister Miss Pippin!

**Miss Pippin: **hello. I'm not a baby or that little.

**LadySaxophone: **To me you always will be.

**Miss Pippin: **Feeling sentimental today I see…

**LadySaxophone: **I decided this was a milestone.

**Miss Pippin: ***rolls eyes* for what?

**LadySaxophone: **You wrote your first fanficion of course!

**Miss Pippin:** oh…right

**LadySaxophone: **So there's this little notice on my profile that says that my little sister is going to start posting things on my account. (We might start writing stories together, so we just decided share my account since it already existed.) This is the first one! It's also the first one she wrote by herself so please review!

Indecision

Anakin rushed into his quarters, emotions running through his head. Betrayal, anguish, anger, sadness, indecision…

As he paced around the room, he tried to go through each of his emotions, realizing them, and releasing them to the Force. Nothing seemed to work. Not even the hour long meditation he did. Indecision seemed to come up the most. Thinking through the last few hours, he had come to the conclusion that he defiantly was lost without Obi-Wan. Finally, he just sat down on the couch and leaned his head back.

The same thoughts raced to his mind like they had when experiencing the moments during this backwards day.

_Palpatine was a sith lord? It just didn't make sense. How could the elderly man that he had told everything and trusted betray him like this? Holding the light saber up to his throat he couldn't bring himself to kill him._

_Instead he pretended to follow along with what Palpatine was saying, promising himself he'd think over everything later. Following his orders, he ran to tell Master Windu the situation. No thoughts crossed his mind only a sense of duty to the order._

_Once finding Mace, he tried to convince him that they needed him to be there while confronting Palpatine. After all Anakin had a reputation to keep up, being the Hero with No Fear. Finally taking the rejection he went to his quarters, and for the millionth time found himself wishing Obi-Wan had never taken that mission to Utapau._

Anakin suddenly remembered what Palpatine had told him while having a light saber pointed at his throat.

"_I can save your wife Anakin. I can ensure she doesn't die and leave you."_

Could that be true? After everything Anakin had faced he knew that you could never trust a sith lord. One way or another they would twist their words and then try to kill you.

On the other hand Palpatine was his friend, he would never betray Anakin like that would he? Again Anakin thought of his dream,

_Padme was screaming in pain and all throughout her labor she kept screaming for him to come. Finally after giving birth, Anakin felt her life slip away into the living force as if she had no will to live._

If that dream ever came true, Anakin knew he would be lost in a sea of pain just like when his mother died.

At the same time Anakin knew deep in his heart that Obi-Wan would never have/will trust Palpatine like Anakin had. He also knew that Obi-Wan would not approve of Anakin even considering joining Palpatine.

He felt like he was being torn in two. Forced to choose between his dying wife and his brother.

_Padme, Obi-Wan, Padme, Obi-Wan._

Those words kept whispering in his head

_Choose! Choose!_

In anger he let out a scream of the indecision that would not leave him alone. Finally he took a deep breath in and opened his bond to Obi-Wan.

Immediately images rushed into his mind of the fight occurring.

Obi-Wan didn't have his light saber, and was wrestling with General Grievous. Obi-Wan tried to kick the droids leg only to remember that Grievous was made out of metal. Letting out a cry from the pain that exploded in his calf, he reached out and grabbed the blaster on the floor. Finding himself tossed back and thus creating distance, Obi-Wan shot Grievous straight in the heart twice. Finally tossing the blaster to the ground he muttered "so uncivilized" and started walking away.

Seeing his chance, Anakin opened the large bond he shared with Obi-Wan, sending all the thoughts he'd been having, from his secret marriage, to the betrayal from Palpatine, Anakin sent the message as loud as he could from across the galaxy. He saw the image of Obi-Wan gasping from the flood of information, and then could hear him in the back of his mind saying,

"Anakin Anakin calm down!"

Immediately as if someone had planted the idea into his mind Anakin felt his taunt muscles relax, and a feeling of calm flood through him. Curse Obi-Wan and his mind tricks!

"I heard that, and you needed to be calmed down. Just stay where you are Anakin, and please actually listen to me this time. I'll be back on Coruscant in an hour, just please stay where you are."

Too exhausted from the day, Anakin decidedly obeyed Obi-Wan for the first time by falling asleep on the couch.

* * *

><p>Obi-Wan walking away from Grievous, suddenly felt a swell of emotions and images flood the bond he had with Anakin. Things from a forbidden marriage with Padme to the image of Palpatine promising to keep Padme safe, rushed into his head at such an extreme speed that he gasped and automatically put his hand to his head. Frantically fearing that his Anakin had lost complete control and had started running to Palpatine's rescue he shouted, "Anakin Anakin calm down." Just to make sure he sent calming Force to surround his former padawan's mind. After hearing him say "curse Obi-Wan and his mind tricks" he sent back,<p>

"I heard that, and you needed to be calmed down. Just stay where you are Anakin, and please actually listen to me this time. I'll be back on Coruscant in an hour, just please stay where you are."

Just to ensure Anakin stayed where he was, Obi-Wan sent the suggestion that sleep would be a good idea through the Force, and put shields around it. That way Anakin wouldn't know the suggestion was from him. Fully satisfied, Obi-Wan hurried back to his ship before the clones had time to catch up with him, and flew off without them.

Then looking down he said, "Blast it! Anakin's going to make sure I never hear the end of this" because he remembered that he had dropped his light saber.

Not thinking too hard on this, Obi-Wan flew towards Coruscant at hyper speed. Seeing that he had a while left of the ride, Obi-Wan went to his bond to ensure that Anakin was still unconscious. Finding his results satisfying, Obi-Wan went over the memories Anakin had sent him. First he saw Padme and Anakin getting married. He had known they had been close, but he had never imagined that they were married. Next he saw the scene of Padme announcing her pregnancy to Anakin from behind a pillar. Surely they could have been more inconspicuous than that! After that image, came Anakin's nightmares of Padme dying. They were so real, Obi-Wan felt that they were visions from the Force. Next came Anakin's talk with Palpatine. He heard Palpatine express that he felt the Jedi were planning to overthrow the senate which Obi-Wan scoffed at.

This memory seemed longer than the others, as Obi-Wan watched, he heard Palpatine speak of the powers of the Sith. He felt a surge of pride as Anakin pulled out his light saber and held it against the throat of that manipulating slime. Then Obi-Wan heard how Palpatine promised Padme's safety, and felt Anakin's emotions.

The last memory came and Obi-Wan saw how immediately Anakin went to go find Master Windu. He was surprised at Master Windu's retort of telling Anakin not to fight, and was slightly outraged when Anakin actually listened.

Seeing that he was going to land soon Obi-Wan snapped out of his own thoughts, and checked to make sure Anakin was still sleeping. Satisfied Obi-Wan prepped his ship for landing.

Anakin woke up to the sound of Obi-Wan entering the room. Sitting up, Anakin looked at his former master who was carrying a cup of caf for Anakin, and a cup of tea for himself. Sitting next to Anakin, Obi-Wan handed him his caf, and sipped his cup of tea. He sighed and said

"Let's start at the beginning. Tell me why you married Padme in the first place."

"Isn't it obvious master? It's because I loved her. I loved her from the very moment I met her on Tatooine. No matter what I did, I couldn't get her out of my head. I loved her because she was everything I wasn't. Kind, gentle, generous, never losing her temper… I loved her so much, and when I found out she felt the same way, I knew we couldn't live without each other. I wanted to do things right, so when I took her back to Naboo, I married her."

Obi-Wan paused for a moment to take all that in before he asked Anakin one crucial question.

"If you love her that much, would you be able to accept it if she died? Could you deal with the pain of losing her without going to the dark side?"

Anakin stopped. He thought deeply before answering Obi-Wan's question.

"If I had no other choice, if there was no other way to save her, I would have to let her go. I can say now that I wouldn't go to the dark side after she died, but I can't say I wouldn't go to the dark side if that guaranteed that she would live."

"Tell me Anakin, do you honestly think that Padme would want to be saved if it meant you turning evil?"

Anakin answered with a down cast face

"No, she would never want to be saved that way."

Then straightening Obi-Wan leaned over to put a hand on his former apprentice's shoulder.

"Then I believe we have nothing left to discuss. If Palpatine is truly evil like I believe he is, then with that statement you just made Palpatine have no more control over you."

Looking up Anakin stared into his master's eyes trying to process what he just said. Then understanding lit up his eyes. He realized what Palpatine had been trying to do. He had always encouraged Anakin that his arrogance and hate were natural feelings, and that any human feels them. Palpatine had twisted his thoughts, and just like that, Anakin had followed along because he heard what he always wanted to hear.

Seeing how close Anakin was to making the wrong decision, Obi-Wan lifted his head up to Anakin.

"Before you contacted me, were you really that close to choosing to save him?"

Seeing his former master's thoughts Anakin quickly explained his position.

"It was like trying to choose between you and my wife. I didn't realize that you were on the same side. It was like my soul was being ripped in two trying to choose. I couldn't find an answer, and that's when I contacted you. You were my brother, I knew you would help me make the right decision, and even though Padme might die I know my choice was the correct one."

Seeing how Anakin was close to tears, Obi-Wan started to reassure Anakin.

"Remember Anakin, you could have just changed the future by making this choice. Like Master Yoda says: always in motion the future is."

Taking this into consideration Anakin took a deep breath, and looked at Obi-Wan. Before the older Master could do anything, Anakin tackled him in a hug and said

"Thank you Obi-Wan"

"You're welcome Anakin; you know I could never let you down. You are my brother. I love you."


End file.
